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QI: The Book of Animal Ignorance
Buy QI: The Book of Animal Ignorance: John Lloyd,John Mitchinson,
Buy QI: The Book of Animal Ignorance Now
Faber and Faber
Author: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, £12.99
Fantastically informative - but not for the younger crowd
Review date: 2010-03-21 Rating: 8 out of 10
This is a tremendous book for anyone who likes to know the reasons why incredible animals do the things they do. For instance, the explanation as to the why and how cheetahs can run so fast is superb. The book is also fabulous at discussing animals from an angle you may not have expected. For instance, bees and why they are so incredibly useful. Or how man's discovery of horses as a mode of transport was their evolutionary 'get out of jail free card' for not ending up on the menu. One caveat, and its not really a grumble, more of an observation is that a rather disproportionate amount of each animal study is devoted to its sexual behaviour. Hey, I am no prude, but there's only so much a person wants to know about animal appendages! Because of this - I suggest this is not really a book for young children. A better bet for smart, inquisitive kids would be: 'Why do panda do handstands.'
QI: The Book of Animal Ignorance Reviews
Useful, Quite Interesting and Hilarious
Review date: 2009-05-05 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is a book of faccts. Animal facts to be precise. Now you may think "That's boring" or "That's been done before!" then think again.
This is the most genuinally enjoyable and informative fact book I've ever read. It gives two pages of well written information on hundreds of animals. Did you know that Polar Bears aren't white? Or that a woodluse can change from a male to a female? See, this is great stuff.
This is the ideal book for reading on the loo, in bed if you can't get to sleep, or just to make other people look ignorant. And we know everyone loves to do that!
So if you enjoyed the rest of the QI book range, then scoop this up. Other people, watch your next door neighbour buying it and follow!
Compelling
Review date: 2009-03-28 Rating: 10 out of 10
This was a present for my dad for Christmas - he loves it. Read through it in one day & is constantly re-reading parts when mum's watching the soaps. A worthy buy
A Non-stop Onslaught of Fascinating Facts. Most Interesting Even if you Aren't Particularly An Animal Fan
Review date: 2009-03-03 Rating: 10 out of 10
Even if animal facts aren't particularly your thing, you should still find this book to be nothing short of absolutely fascinating. I dare you to read more than two pages without thinking "wow!" to yourself.
Literally pick an animal, any animal and then prepare to be instantly fascinated by facts which will simply astound you. Squid!? Eh, squid you say...? Well maybe not 'squid', but you will find box jellyfish (whose eyes are permanently out of focus!) But commoner animals are just as fascinating in the hand of this book's meticulous authors: For instance, thought you knew all about dirty rats? You'll rapidly learn that they enjoy peeing on each other, giggling in ultrasound, and that the only place in the world where you won't find any (outside of the polar ice caps) is Alberta, Canada because they have a 400 mile buffer zone against their entering. A quarter of all electrical faults are owing to their teeth cutting into wires; just as they are responsible for most otherwise unexplained domestic fires. And lest you thought they were dirty: they certainly are! Yet still spend half their lives cleaning themselves.
Utterly fascinating is this book - owing to its most interesting compendium of amazing facts regarding all kinds of critters. I just wish that the book included more animals and was, accordingly, bigger; albeit hopefully a future edition will be "noticeably stouter". Still, it remains an unquestionable must buy. 5/5!
Relentlessly fascinating
Review date: 2009-02-08 Rating: 10 out of 10
I'm a bit of a fanboy when it comes to the QI show and books, but this is book is my favourite offering.
The reason why I like the QI products so much is the QI philosophy: knowledge should be interesting, and learning is fun. So the worthy but dry stuff is cut, leaving just the good stuff.
At times this can be annoying if you want a detailed and complete understanding of a subject, but that's not what they are about. And of course once you've picked up the personality of a subject, and find you like it, you can always dig deeper.
The reason I like this one in particular is the subject matter - the animal kingdom boggles the mind. The elvish approach has pulled up a torrent of scarcely believable and fascinating information, most of which is new to me. There's nothing they couldn't have used for the inside cover, it's amazing from cover to cover.
The book introduces us to about 100 animals, with the information squeezed into two pages for each. Cartoons support the ideas and facts presented simply and stylishly.
As others have said, if you want a complete overview of the principles and organisation of the animal kingdom, then you are better looking elsewhere. But if you want something to interest and fascinate you, then this is a great place to start.
Product Details/Specifications
Authors:
John Lloyd
John Mitchinson
Creators:
Stephen Fry (Foreword)
Recording label: Faber and Faber
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
EAN: 9780571233700
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 0571233708
Number of pages: 304
Publication date: 2007-10-04
